Operating in a virtual environment utilizing a computer is a pass-time that is gaining popularity. A virtual environment is an interactive simulated environment accessible by multiple users who can interact through an “online” interface using a network client. One deficiency with VUs is that the environment and items in the environment is not easily customized.
User friendliness of computers continues to be enhanced by better user interfaces. User interfaces for computers systems have evolved significantly since the personal computer (PC) first became widely available. Early PCs used rather primitive user input devices, where a single keyboard was the only human input mechanism. The vast improvement in microprocessors, available memory, and programming functionality have all contributed to the advancement of user interface designs and the development of user friendly graphic based operating systems and hardware.
One particular area of advancement in user interface technology pertains to surface computing technology. Surface computing allows any number of users to interact with a computer through an interactive surface. The computer can render a graphical user interface (‘GUI’) on the surface and multiple users may manipulate GUI displayed “objects” directly with their hands using multi-touch technology as opposed to using traditional input devices such as a mouse or a keyboard. In such a manner, the devices through which users provide input and receive output are merged into a single surface, which provide an intuitive and efficient mechanism for users to interact with the computer. As can be appreciated the combined software and hardware technology of the interactive surface can allow a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, of physical objects.
As surface computing becomes more ubiquitous in everyday environments, advancements in how users interact with a surface computing device to efficiently perform tasks may show remarkable improvements over traditional input devices such as a keyboard and mouse. Such a system is commonly referred to as a multi-touch interactive system. Such a system can include a touch screen or touch tablet (touchpad) that recognizes multiple simultaneous touch points and typically has software to interpret such simultaneous touches. Such a system can also communicate with wireless devices such as Bluetooth compatible devices, devices equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and wireless cameras.
There are several detection technologies that may be utilized for detection of devices by a multi-touch interactive system. Optical-based and infrared based proximity detection techniques have been developed to recognize objects that are either in contact or proximate to the multi-touch surface. In addition object recognition sensors such as bar code readers have also been adapted to work with multi-touch surfaces.
With regard to virtual universes, users can inhabit and interact in the virtual environment via avatars, which can be two or three-dimensional graphical representations of human or non-human form. Alternately described, an avatar can be a graphical representation that a user selects for others to see while in the same virtual environment. An avatar can assume various graphical representations such as that of a human character, animal character, an icon, abstract personas, and so on.
Virtual environments have many different names. For example, a virtual environment can be referred to as a “metaverse,”, “3D Internet”, “virtual world”, and so on referred to herein as a virtual universe (VU). Although there are many different types of virtual environments, there, are several features many VUs have in common. For example, many VUs have a shared space, which is a “universe,” for many avatars to reside in as they concurrently participate in an activity. The VU avatars can traverse, inhabit, and interact with other avatars via 3-D graphics and landscapes. Thus, a VU can be populated by many thousands of residents or avatars. Often, the VU resembles aspects of the real world in terms of physics or physical laws, houses, and landscapes, etc.
An agent can be a user's account, upon which the user can build an avatar, and which is tied to the inventory of assets the user owns. A region can be a virtual area of and within the VU, typically residing on a single server. Assets, avatars, the environment, and anything visual can have UUIDs (unique universal identifier) that are associated with geometric data, among other data. The geometric data can be distributed to users as textual coordinates. Textures can be distributed to users as graphics files, which are placed within the boundaries of specified textual coordinates. Effects data can be rendered by the user's client according to the user's preferences and user's device capabilities. Lastly, socialization and/or community features allow and encourage the formation of social groups such as teams, guilds, clubs, cliques, housemates, neighborhoods, etc.
Residents can be personas or representations of the users of the VU, and residents can roam all about the virtual region by walking, driving, flying, or even by teleportation or transportation, which is essentially moving through space from one point to another in the VU, more or less instantaneously. The VU can also include things that do not presently exist in real life. An avatar can have a wide range of business and social experiences while interacting with the VU. Such business and social experiences are becoming more common and increasingly important in on-line VUs.
There are many different services that provide VUs via the World Wide Web. For example, Second Life, Entropia Universe, The Sims Online, There, and Red Light Center all provide some form of VU, and these service providers have trademark rights in such names. VUs can also, provide multiplayer online games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lineage, or World of Warcraft, and likewise such service providers have trademarks in such name. One popular VU mentioned above available is “Second Life” (Second Life is a trademark of Linden Research in the United States, other countries, or both). The Second Life client program provides its users (referred to as residents) with tools to view, navigate, and modify the Second Life world and participate in its virtual economy. Second Life and other on-line VUs present a tremendous new outlet for both structured and unstructured virtual collaboration, gaming, exploration, advertising, and travel, as well as real-life simulations in virtual spaces.
Many VUs also have a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI can depict the VU or some form of “space” visually, ranging in style from 2D “cartoon” imagery to a more immersive 3D environment. In addition many virtual environments provide immediacy, interactivity, and persistence. Immediacy allows interactions between a user's avatar and the environment to take place in real time. Persistence provides a continuous environment regardless of whether individual users are logged in.
Interactivity with the environment allows users to alter, develop, build, or submit customized content to a limited degree. As stated above, the types of objects that an avatar can possess and the types of actions an avatar can carry out are limited. The ability to customize such objects, actions and gestures is also less than perfect. Furthermore, the graphical rendering of available objects, actions and gestures in the VU is limited.